Everyone gaped at the three ghosts in front of them. Harry was rubbing his eyes furiously as he stared at them in disbelief. Bellatrix let out a shriek, while Ron swore under his breath.

"Impossible" Malfoy breathed, looking from Lily to James and finally to Sirius. Ghost Sirius ran forward and brandished his wand with a determined glint in his eye.

"Expelliarmus!" he cried as he aimed his attack at Malfoy. Malfoy went flying backwards as Sirius grabbed a hold of Hermione and held her close to him.

"Prongs, behind you!" Ghost Sirius yelled. Bellatrix had snuck up behind James and raised her wand.

"Stupefy!" Lily yelled. Bellatrix stopped in her tracks, stunned. James grinned and gave Sirius the thumbs-up. He ran forward and muttered a spell at Nott and Avery. They both screamed as they tried to run away, but they failed as the spell hit them. The sight of seeing ghosts wasn't something they saw every day. Lily nodded in approval as she scanned the Death Eaters; they were all either unconscious or stunned. Suddenly, she gasped on seeing someone in a crumpled heap on the floor and moaning in agony.

"Remus!" she cried as she ran over to him. James' and Sirius' heads shot up as they noticed their old friend in pain. They both made their way over to him and knelt down next to him. Ginny was still sobbing by his side.

"He won't talk to me!" she whispered. The three ghosts looked to each other and nodded. Putting their hands out over Lupin's body, they muttered a few words as a white light enveloped him. A few seconds later, his wounds were gone and he opened his eyes. He stared for a few minutes and then his face softened.

"Am I dead?" he asked. Lily giggled.

"No, Moony, you're very much alive. We just saved your life" James told him. Lupin smiled weakly as tears welled up in his eyes.

"I never thought I'd see you guys again" Sirius and James held their hands out to Lupin, who took them and was pulled up to standing position. Lily's jaw dropped when a certain Death Eater caught her attention. She narrowed her eyes as she nudged James in the ribs. James seemed to notice this also as he turned to Sirius and smirked. Sirius looked to Lupin, who looked like he was about to start laughing. All four of them made their way over to Wormtail. Wormtail looked like he was hyperventilating, but because he was under the Immobilas spell, no one could tell. Lupin undid the spell and Wormtail gasped.

"L-Lily, J-James, S-Sirius, you-you're s-supposed to be dead!"

"We know" Sirius told him as he narrowed his eyes at him, his fist clenched around his wand. Lily made to raise her wand, but James stopped her by holding his hand out.

"I think if we're gonna kill Wormtail, we'll do it together" Lupin and Sirius nodded.

"Hey, can I help?" Harry called out. Sirius chuckled as he turned to Harry.

"Sure Prongs Jr." Lily and James stared at their son in amazement.

"My god, he looks just like me!" James whispered in awe.

"He has my eyes" Lily observed, studying his eyes intently. Harry blushed as he looked away and turned to Sirius with a grin on his face.

"Hey Padfoot" Harry whispered, his voice breaking. Sirius winked at him as he grinned back at him.

The three ghosts, Lupin and Harry raised their wands to Wormtail. Wormtail got down on his knees and started begging and pleading.

"NO! Please, you-you wouldn't! It's me Wormtail! Your old friend!"

"Yes, old friend is correct, but the person begging in front of us is a traitor who doesn't deserve to live" James spat. Harry nodded, his eyes ablaze with unshed tears.

"Say goodbye Wormtail!" Lupin whispered. Wormtail was shaking violently. They all raised their wands and yelled out the killing curse.

"Avada Kedavra!" Wormtail's screams filled the air as he keeled over, dead. Sirius let out a sigh of relief.

"I never thought I'd see the rat dead" Harry laughed as tears streamed down his face.  Sirius smiled as he pulled him into a hug. James and Lily waved their wands and muttered another spell. There was another burst of light and everyone that was paralyzed, could move again. Dumbledore looked at the three ghosts in amazement as his eyes twinkled. Harry carried on crying into Sirius' chest, but yet he was amazed. Even though Harry could see right through him, he could feel him as if he were alive. Harry pulled away with red eyes as he turned to his dead parents. Lily looked on the verge of tears herself as she stared at her son. James smiled proudly at his son. Harry smiled weakly back. Lupin and Sirius hugged as Lupin broke down in tears. Hermione stared at Ghost Sirius in disbelief; he seemed so much more mature than when he was a teenager. This was the Sirius that she loved, not the teenage one who kept accusing her of being a Death Eater, yet, they were both the same person and she wasn't sure whether she was ready to forgive him for all the horrible things he'd said. Alive Sirius looked to Hermione in awe. She'd fought against Death Eaters and put her life on the line for her friends! How could he have been so stupid as to even think that she was working as one?

"Hey Hermione" Ghost Sirius said as he held out his arms to hug her, but at the last minute, she ducked and backed away, shaking her head with tears streaming down her face. Ghost Sirius watched her with confusion.

"Stay-away-from-me" she sobbed as she ran away. Ghost Sirius scratched his head as he watched her run from the Great Hall.

"What did I do wrong?" he mused. Ghost James and Lily glanced at each other with small smiles on their faces. Ghost Sirius decided to follow Hermione to see where she was going and so he set off after her.

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Sirius stopped on hearing Hermione's sobs in the Astronomy Tower. He watched her cry, feeling curious as to why she was so upset, but also dreading what she would say, seeing how she'd reacted when he'd tried to hug her.

"Hermione?" He prompted gently. Hermione's head snapped up as she turned to see Sirius studying her intently.

"Will you stop that?" she snapped, looking irritated. Sirius looked at her, taken aback.

"What have I done wrong?" he asked, looking worried.

"Oh, well, you should know, shouldn't you? I mean, after all, you dumped me!" Sirius looked shocked.

"We went out? What exactly happened?" he asked slowly. Hermione sniffed as she wiped her nose with her sleeve.

"You dumped me cos you thought I was snogging Malfoy!" she said bitterly. Sirius stared at her in disbelief, before bursting out laughing.

"Seriously?" he cried as he laughed harder. Hermione looked away as she sniffed again. He stopped laughing, but his tone still sounded amused.

"Well, I was a bit of an ass when I was seventeen"

"You can say that again!" Hermione exclaimed "You kept saying to everyone that I was a Death Eater and that I shouldn't be trusted!" she said as she let out a sob. Sirius looked guilty as he sat down next to her and put his arms round her.

"Hey, look at me now? I'm not as stupid as I was when I was younger. I-I do like you, but it's the fact that-"

"You're dead and I'm alive" she muttered dully. Sirius nodded sadly.

"I was actually going to . . . I mean, we were going to, well, you know . . . " she trailed off, staring into space. Sirius hugged her tighter.

"How long are you, Lily and James here for?" she questioned him.

"Well, we're here for about 48 hours, I think" Sirius said with a mischievous grin on his face. Hermione looked worried.

"What?"

"Well, while Prongs and I are here, I think we might play a few pranks on Snape and-"

"No!" she stated firmly.

"But-"

"No!"

"But-"

"No, buts!"

"Yeah, I know, but-"

"Sirius!"

Sirius' face dropped as his smile faded.

"Oh, alright" he said in a defeated voice, showing puppy dog eyes. Hermione sighed; he always looked so adorable with that face that she couldn't resist.

"Oh, alright, you can prank him!" Sirius grinned as he stood up.

"The puppy dog eyes win again! Yahoo!" Hermione giggled. He kissed her lightly on the lips as he raced off to down the staircase. Hermione stared after him, stunned that he'd just kissed her on the lips. Just as she was about to look out the window, Sirius appeared again as he grinned.

"Oh yeah, I forgot to mention, you've got sweet lips that taste like strawberry" he informed her, before running off again. Hermione stared at where he'd just been standing a few seconds ago in disbelief.

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Ghost Sirius burst into the Great Hall, grinning like a madman.

"Mione's allowed me to pull a few pranks!" he said triumphantly. Lily laughed, while James and Lupin looked amused.

"Nice one Padfoot, what did you have to do to get her to allow you?" James asked.
"Oh, I just gave her the puppy dog eyes, they never fail!" he said proudly. Meanwhile, seventeen year-old Sirius had crept up to the Astronomy Tower to have a word with his ex-girlfriend.

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"Who's there?" Hermione questioned cautiously as she pulled out her wand.

"It's me" Sirius said as he carefully stepped forward. Hermione narrowed her eyes at him.

"What do you want?" she spat. Sirius took a deep shuddering breath.

"I-I just wanted to say that I am really, really sorry about how I've acted for the past few days, I've acted like a total jerk and-and I guess that's it" he finished lamely. Hermione snorted.

"Did you expect me to just fall into your arms and everything would go back to how it was before the incident?" she questioned him harshly. Sirius shook his head furiously.

"N-No! I-I mean, look Hermione, I shouldn't have reacted like that, I knew all along that it wasn't really your fault, b-but my mind wouldn't believe it! Please Hermione, just give me another chance, I'll make it up to you, I promise!" Sirius pleaded desperately. Hermione considered it for a few moments.

"Only, if you never do that again! If something like that happens again, you find out the facts before putting the blame on me!" Sirius nodded furiously.

"I promise!" Hermione smiled slightly as she walked closer to him.

"What about Clare?" she questioned him.

"What about her? She's only my date for the Ball" He said carelessly.

"Oh, she isn't your new girlfriend?" Hermione asked with a smirk on her face.

"No"

"Are you being honest?"

"Yes"

Hermione studied him for a moment as if trying to read his mind.

"Alright, I believe you" Suddenly, she started giggling madly. Sirius looked at her quizzically.

"What?"

"Nothing, I just-remembered something that happened once when there was a storm and we were at Grimmauld Place and you were trying to comfort me" she said with a grin.

"What is it?" he asked eagerly. Hermione leaned close to him and whispered in his ear.

"Lipstick and blusher really suited you"